Don't go to Mexico City!

Don't go to Mexico City!

Because you will fall in love :)

My o my, Mexico made a huge impression! Some countries inspire my work in colour and form and some very directly by their ceramic history and current crafters. Mexico did both! The people, the city, the food, the landscape, the sun, the architecture and the ceramics, it was all sweetly overwhelming and a warm welcome.

We started our journey in Condesa, Mexico city. The streets are wide and jungle lined, the houses colourful with a playful art nouveau and art deco style. For someone as fond of colour and shape as I am, this was a real indulgence. And due to the presence of hipsters, young professionals and creatives, the neighbourhood is overrun with beautifully designed boutique hotels, bars and shops. Their style best described as: urban jungle, sustainable, natural, local and craftsmanship. What more does one want right? Happy me.

And then we went to a museum so high on my list that it could touch the blue Mexican sky :) the National Museum of Anthropology. For every ceramicist this is a must, I would say; the use of clay throughout the ages is just so different and yet so incredibly the same. I am amazed of the playfulness of most pieces and the simplicity of others. But first and foremost, it looks like the crafters took a lot of pride and joy in making beautiful things to surround themselves and their community with. The use of human- and animal elements on vases, pots and other functional objects was so beautiful. 
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Remember the rabbit with the clock? Or the moon cat? As a child I had a real fascination with Alice in Wonderland and for some reason a lot of these vessels made me think of it :) Playful, fun, full of fantasy, exceptionally executed and actually useful! 
 
On the other hand I was amazed how little some things changed and how modern these artifacts look.
And let's not skip the food, maybe food is a weird place to get inspiration from when you are a ceramicist but look at these colours, I mean, I am a sucker for lilac, but the combination with this yellow orange sunny colour just lightend up my heart! Stay tuned for how it will effect my future work, only time will tell... Love Fleur